Most Valuable Player: Chris Paul, New Orleans. Paul nearly led the Hornets to the Western Conference finals last season and has ascended, in my opinion, to being the league's preeminent floor leader. He can do it all - score, distribute and direct. And please protect the ball, when he's on defense, or it will be stolen in a jiffy.

Most Improved Player: Amir Johnson, Detroit. After spending his first two seasons shuffling back and forth between the NBA and the D-League, Johnson played in 62 games off the bench last year and averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds. New Pistons coach Michael Curry has an expanded role planned this year for the 6-foot-9 Johnson, who attended both Verbum Dei and Westchester, as a prep, before bypassing college for the NBA.

Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard, Orlando. He blew it up during All-Star Weekend last year in New Orleans, by winning the slam dunk contest with his Superman impersonation. But in serious games, Howard is a stop gap in the middle, with his shot-blocking and shot-altering presence.

Rookie of the Year: O.J. Mayo, Memphis. Fellow rookie Michael Beasley might score more points down in Miami and Greg Oden has a head start on the award, after missing last season in Portland, recovering from knee surgery. But Mayo will emerge as the league's best rookie because of his all-around play.

Sixth Man of the Year: Lamar Odom, Lakers. No one else in the league, aside from San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, brings more intangibles and team-oriented play off the bench than the 6-10 Odom, who actually is more versatile, in that he can play more positions, than Ginobili.

Comeback Player of the Year: Shaun Livingston, Miami. It can't be anyone else. Livingston appears to have made a heroic and miraculous recovery from a devastating knee injury that shelved him for nearly 20 months. He is being brought along slowly but by December, he should be the main man at the throttle of the Heat offense.

Most Underrated Player: Ronnie Brewer, Utah. The vast majority of NBA coaches would love to have this guy on their team. He takes high-percentage shots, he can get to the basket, he moves well without the ball and he is a hardnosed defender. What's more, he is a low-maintenance player, not needing any coddling...not that he'd get it from flint-tough Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.

Most Overrated Player: Yi Jianlian, New Jersey. Milwaukee discovered early on that Yi's limited to being not much more than a jump shooter. And we all know how good those type of players are, if their shot isn't on. Too bad the Bucks did not find that out before they selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Now, after being traded in the off season to the Nets, Yi will try to add more ingredients to his game.

Biggest Loss to a Team: James Posey, formerly of Boston, now with the New Orleans Hornets. The defending NBA champion Celtics might be able to replace Posey's defensive ability with Tony Allen but Allen is nowhere near the 3-point shooting threat that Posey is.

Biggest Addition to a Team: Elton Brand, formerly of the Clippers, now with the Philadelphia 76ers. This precisely was what the Sixers needed, someone that could score effectively in the low post, grab rebounds, block shots and effectively operate a pick-and-pop game, with guard Andre Miller.

Scoring Champion: Kevin Martin, Sacramento. Martin averaged a team-high 23.7 points per game last season and that average will soar this year, as he becomes even more entrenched as the team's go-to man. Martin has all the qualities required of a big-time scorer. He can shoot it from the perimeter, he can get to and finish at the basket and he wears a path to the free-throw line with his proficiency at drawing fouls.

Most Technical Fouls: Rasheed Wallace, Detroit. In what might be one of the tightest statistical catagory races this season, Wallace will edge out the Lakers' Kobe Bryant.

Most Valuable Flopper: Manu Ginobili, San Antonio. The runaway...I mean fallaway winner in this catagory, by a wide margin.

Most Shot Reduction: Jason Richardson, Charlotte. Last season, Richardson hoisted 1,468 shots, with 599 of them launched from beyond the 3-point stripe. He took over 600 more shots than teammate Emeka Okafor, who like Richardson, started all 82 games. Richardson's shot-happy style will not wash with new coach Larry Brown.

All Whine Team: This group is not your mellow red. Calls that go against them nearly always are followed by a comment, gesture and typically both, to an official.

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